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Geotechnical Engineering
ECV 507
Geotechnical Engineering
Introduction to Geotechnical
Engineering
Geotechnical Engineering
Geotechnical engineering has several different aspects:
 Soil mechanics – a branch of geotechnical engineering
concerned with the engineering mechanics and properties of
soil. Soil becomes the engineering material whose properties
and behaviour we must understand in order to build with it or
upon it.
 Rock mechanics – a branch that deals with engineering
mechanics of rocks. There is a significant difference between
the behaviour of soil masses and rock masses.
 Foundation engineering – applying geology, soil mechanics,
rock mechanics, and structural engineering to the design and
construction of foundations for civil engineering and other
structures.
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Rock
 The solid particles of soil are formed from physical and
chemical weathering of rocks. Therefore, it is important to
have some understanding of the nature of rocks and their
formation.
 A rock is made up of one or more minerals. The
characteristics of a particular rock depends on the minerals it
contains.
 By definition, a mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic
element or compound in a solid state. More than 4000
different minerals have been discovered but only 10 elements
make up 99% of Earth’s crust (the outer layer of Earth):
oxygen (O), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca),
sodium (Na), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), titanium (Ti),
and hydrogen (H).
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 Geotechnical engineering, as the name implies, concerns the
application of civil engineering technology to some aspects of
the earth.
 Usually, the geotechnical engineer is concerned only with the
natural materials found at or near the surface of the earth.
 Civil engineers call these earthen materials soil and rock.
 Soil is the relatively loose agglomerate of mineral and organic
materials and sediments found above the bedrock.
 Soil can be relatively easily broken down into their constituent
mineral or organic particles.
 Rocks on the other hand have very strong internal cohesive
and molecular forces which hold the constituent mineral
grains together.
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Soil
 Soil – a three phase material consisting of solid, liquid, and
gas. The solid components of soils are the product of
weathered rocks. The liquid component is usually water, and
the gas component is usually air.
 The gaps between the solid particles are called voids.
 Its mechanical behavior is largely dependent on the size of its
solid particles and voids.
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Rock
 Most of the minerals (74%) in Earth’s crust contain oxygen
and silicon.
 The silicate minerals, containing oxygen and silicon, comprise
90% of all rock-forming minerals.
 One of the interesting minerals in soil mechanics is the clay
mineral montmorillonite (an expansive clay), which can
expand up to 15 times its original volume if water is present.
When expanding, it can produce pressures high enough to
damage building foundations and other structures.
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The Earth The Earth

Atmosphere (Air)
 Since its formation, Earth has been subjected to continuous
changes caused by seismic, volcanic, and climatic activities. Crust

 Moving from the surface to the center of Earth, a distance of Mantle

approximately 6370 km, we encounter three different layers.
1. The top (outer) layer, the crust, has an average thickness
of 15 km and an average density of 3000 kg/m3. By
comparison, the density of water is 1000 kg/m3 and that of
iron is 7900 kg/m3.
2. The second layer, the mantle, has an average thickness of
3000 km and an average density of 5000 kg/m3.
Outer Core (Liquid)
3. The third, the core (inner and outer), contains primarily
nickel and iron and has an average density of 11,000 Inner Core (Solid)
kg/m3.
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The Earth Types of Rocks

Within the crust, there are three major groups of rocks:
1. Igneous rocks, which are formed by the cooling of
magma. Fast cooling above the surface – basalt. Slow
cooling below the surface - granite and dolerite. These
rocks are the ancestors of sedimentary and metamorphic
rocks.

Basalt Granite
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Types of Rocks Types of Rocks

2. Sedimentary rocks, which are made up of particles and
fragments derived from disintegrated rocks that are
subjected to pressure and cementation caused by calcite
and silica. Limestone (chalk) and sandstone are examples
of a sedimentary rock.
3. Metamorphic rocks, which are the product of existing
rocks subjected to changes in pressure and temperature,
causing changes in mineral composition of the original
rocks - Marble, slate, and schist. Schist

Slate
Sandstone

Sedimentary Rocks Limestone

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Marble
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Soil Formation Soil Formation

 Soils are the product of physical and chemical weathering of
rocks.
 Physical weathering includes climatic effects such as freeze–
thaw cycles and erosion by wind, water, and ice.
 Chemical weathering includes chemical reaction with
rainwater.
 The particle size and the distribution of various particle sizes
of a soil depend on the weathering agent and the
transportation agent.
 Soils are categorized as gravel, sand, silt, or clay, depending
on the predominant particle size involved.
 Gravels are small pieces of rocks.
 Sands are small particles of quartz and feldspar.
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 Silts are microscopic soil fractions consisting of very fine
quartz grains.
 Clays are flake-shaped microscopic particles of mica, clay
minerals, and other minerals.
 The average size (diameter) of solid particles ranges from
4.75 to 76.2 mm for gravels and from 0.075 to 4.75 mm for
sands – coarse grained soils
 Soils with an average particle size of less than 0.075 mm are
either silt or clay or a combination of the two – fine grained
soils.
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Residual vs Transported Soils Cohesive vs Cohesionless Soils

 Soil may be described as residual or transported.
 If a soil is deposited in the vicinity of the original rocks due to
gravity alone, it is called a residual soil - usually contains angular
rock fragments of varying sizes in the soil-rock interface zone.
 If a soil is deposited elsewhere away from the original rocks due
to a transportation agent (such as wind, ice, or water), it is called
a transported soil.
 Residual soils are usually preferred to support foundations as
they tend to have better engineering properties.
 Soils that have been transported—particularly by wind or
water—are often of poor quality. These are typified by small
grain size, large amounts of pore space, potential for the
presence of large amounts of pore water, and they often are
 Soils can be divided into two major categories: cohesionless
and cohesive.
 Cohesionless soils, such as gravelly, sandy, and silty soils,
have particles that do not adhere (stick) together even with
the presence of water.
 On the other hand, cohesive soils (clays) are characterized
by their very small flakelike particles, which can attract water
and form plastic matter by adhering (sticking) to each other.
 Note that whereas you can make shapes out of wet clay (but
not too wet) because of its cohesive characteristics, it is not
possible to do so with a cohesionless soil such as sand.

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highly compressible.
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Engineering Classification of Rock as a Construction Material

weathered rock?
Grade Description Lithology Foundations
 For laying structural foundations to support
structures
VI Soil Some organic content, no Unsuitable
original structure  For constructing Underground openings
V Completely Decomposed soil, some Assess by soil
weathered remnant structure testing  For protecting slopes
IV Highly weathered Partly changed to soil, Variable and  For supporting railway tracks –Ballasts
soil>rock unreliable
III Moderately Partly changed to soil, Good for most  As base and sub-base for roads and runways
weathered rock>soil small structures
 As aggregate in concrete
II Slightly weathered Increased fractures and Good for anything
mineral staining except for large  Making facia for buildings - decoratives.
dams
I Fresh rock Clean rock Sound
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Rock as a Construction Material Rock as a Construction Material

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Index properties of Intact Rock Intact Rock Classification

 Specific Gravity of Solids, Gs  Rock Type
 Unit Weight,γ  Geologic Formation and Age
 Porosity, n  Indices
 Ultrasonic Velocities (Vp and Vs)  Specific Gravity, Porosity, Unit Weight, Wave
 Compressive Strength, qu Velocities
 Strength (compressive, tensile, shear)
 Tensile Strength, T0
 Elastic Modulus
 Elastic Modulus, ER (at 50% of qu)

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Rock Engineering Rock Engineering

 Analogous to foundation engineering for soils – concerned
with rock as a foundation and construction material.
 Because most of the earth’s surface is covered with soil or
water, rock engineering usually occurs underground (tunnels,
underground power houses, petroleum storage rooms,
mines, etc).
 Sometimes, rock engineering occurs at the surface such as in
the case of building and dam foundations carried to the
bedrock, deep excavations to bedrock, stability of rock
slopes, etc.

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The End

Any Questions?

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